The Kill Order
by BansheeHowler
Summary: Flames leapt and sprung from rooftop to rooftop, and ice crackled underfoot, wind viciously howling though the rugged rubble of the flattened town, fierce scream a desolate banshee's echoing wail. Screams rang out across the desolation, hauntingly echoed by the battle cries that could be heard from several miles away. Fairy Tail was at war.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, so this was a challenge posed by my best friend JimBob – Pick a favourite character from a book series/anime/movie etc and KILL THEM :D She only challenged me to do one, but, all going well, I'll do multiple ones – feel free to request character deaths XD**

 **Feel free to review (oh, please do my lovelies) and happy reading!**

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Anime: Fairy Tail

Character: You'll have to read to find out MWAHAHAHA

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Flames leapt and sprung from rooftop to rooftop, and ice crackled underfoot, wind viciously howling though the rugged rubble of the flattened town, fierce scream a desolate banshee's echoing wail.

Lightning struck the ground a few metres from the town centre, shattering shadows to ashes and cracking the last few remaining buildings on arrival.

Warped forms shivered and shook under the onslaught and screams rang out across the desolation, hauntingly echoed by the battle cries that could be heard from several miles away.

Fairy Tail was at war.

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Flames crackled and pulsed with an intricate, but destructive, power, glowing iridescent around Natsu's clenched fists. His sandaled feet were braced firmly against the cracked ground, pants tattered and ragged at the edges, trademark vest, ripped and torn, fluttering in the wind to reveal his toned chest, smeared with blood and ashes.

But his grin was firmly on his face, sharp canines razors with wicked intent. His salmon hair stood on end, smeared with dirt and grime, and his eyes shone with the thrill of the fight.

He was surrounded.

Dark mages, cloaked in black and born of night, shadows writhing like cursed wraiths, stood before Natsu, heavy in number and force.

The grin, if possible, became wider.

"Now", he said, white scarf whipping in the wind, "I'm all fired up!"

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Lucy despaired over the mess they had made so far, knowing that it was only going to get worse. Much worse.

 _Natsu._

Boy, was he dead.

As soon as she could find him, that is.

She trailed aimlessly through the wreckage of the town, brown orbs wide at the damage that littered the ground and scattered as far as she could see.

She was only now beginning to understand what they'd got into.

Of course, the mission had seemed too good to be true at the start. They always were, with Natsu involved.

She recalled the slip of paper now, drawing a picture in her mind, recalling the thick parchment, the sharp sting of the ink, the gold embellishments that twirled and coiled in the corners of the small slip of card.

And, of course, the three million Jewels. And the celestial key on offer. And the red 'S' in the top left hand corner...

When Team Natsu had arrived at the town she had had to catch her breath at the picturesque beauty of it all. The town sat in uniform rings, sharp alleys and close, small, white brick houses resembling the Labyrinth of old.

In the centre, in a courtyard illuminated by the dying sun in a soft, pale glow, stood a large building, all elegant pillars and distinguished moldings, gilded with gold and depicting gods among mortals.

The town was placed, as though by the hand of a giant, in a large bowl of a valley, framed by weeping willows and sturdy oaks, a stream with the sun's kiss glinting off its surface snaking gently through the lower South quadrant.

Only one problem.

The silence.

It haunted them, snapping eagerly at their heels and taunting them from shadowed doorways as they made their way through the uniform streets to the town centre, looking for the person who had put out the request in the first place.

 _Will pay large sum to any/all guilds that can destroy the bandits of Lazr. Includes Celestial Key, if answering mages do so wish._

Simple enough, right?

That's what they had thought, until they reached the dead town.

It was only when they reached the centre, in front of the hall that rivalled even Fairy Tail's sprawling Guild Hall in size and majesty, that shit started to go down.

The walk into the centre found Lucy hesitantly looking around, finding it hard to appreciate the beauty that now seemed ghostly. Eerie.

She found herself inching closer and closer to Natsu and Happy, finding relief in the dependable _clank_ of Erza's armoured boots and Gray's steady tread.

No one presented themselves when they reached the town centre, having successfully navigated the labyrinth (after several of Natsu's "ooh, what's that?" "Nothing, you dumbass Flame-Brain." "What was that Ice Princess? Want to say that again?" "It would be my pleasure!" "Are you two fighting?!" "No Erza, Sir. Ma'am. Sir.")

Erza called out repeatedly, clanking around the circular courtyard to inspect the surrounding buildings, calling out as she did, as, while her back was turned, Gray and Natsu knocked skulls and Lucy sweat-dropped.

Only a forlorn wind sang through the tree tops, whistling notes like the last canary before the cat.

It was then that Gray noticed the lengthening shadows, even though the sun was still high in the sky. He tried to get the attention of Erza, who was now musing about whether the townspeople were hiding away, in fear of the alleged bandits.

Lucy knew by now there were no such bandits.

This theory was strengthened by the shadows that now swirled and writhed at her feet, like ink in water, and the laughs that echoed tenfold from every dark spot in the courtyard, maniac smirks like icy fingers up her spine.

Instinctively the four of them grouped together, Lucy's hand going to her keys, feeling Gray's no doubt naked shoulder against her own bare neck, Natsu beside her, flames licking eagerly at his knuckles, Erza requipping her double edged sword with a metallic _shing._

The shadows swirled, solidifying as Erza yelled at them to show themselves.

The laughter cut abruptly, replaced with eager whispers of; "Mages. Mages. Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail."

Suddenly, men surrounded them, standing on the rooftops and lining the steps that led down to the courtyard. There were hundreds.

Natsu grinned, ever the eager one for the fight, and started forward, only to be stopped by Erza's armour-clad arm across his chest as her keen eyes surveyed the men that surrounded them from beneath her scarlet hair.

"Wait", she murmured under her breath, knowing Natsu would pick it up with his keen hearing.  
"We don't know what we're up against."

"You're right." Erza's eyes widened and she took a step back as her own shadow writhed and reformed into that of a tall man, and she watched in shock as her own transformed mouth spoke the words she heard formulated in the whispers of the dark around her.

"You have no idea what you're up against."  
They looked for the voice – standing at the apex of the hall room stood a man clothed in shadows and woven from dark, face hidden by the large cloak he wore, that fell and dripped over his shoulders like black smoke, with flashes of silver illuminating briefly every now and then.

It was with a gut-wrenching gasp that Lucy realized they were faces, stuck in the cloak, twisted in mute agony and pushing to be let free, faces contorted in silent screams.

 _Souls._

Lucy felt like vomiting, and her hands tightened on her keys as she clenched her jaw to keep from screaming at this man. This monster.

 _Oh Mavis,_ she thought. _The townspeople. The_ dead _town._

He was undoubtedly a dark mage. But unlike any they had ever faced.

"So", he gloated, raising his arms in a grand gesture, illuminated by the now setting sun.

"Fairy Tail. How do you like my Guild?"

Gray's angry retort was cut off in a strangled gasp as they watched their shadows swirl and change, amassing before scattering across the ground into the town as they shouted out in shock and anger.

"What have you done?" Erza said dangerously low. Unconsciously everyone took a step away from her.

"Oh", said the man with a sadistic grin. "So you've heard of Recall."

"What's he talking about Erza?" Lucy asked nervously, watching as her friend's complexion paled dangerously.

"Shadow Recall is a rare form of magic. Forbidden magic. No one's seen it in years because the effects are so devastating. With one wave of your hand you can condemn an entire city to death."


	2. Chapter 2

" _Shadow Recall is a rare form of magic. Forbidden magic. No one's seen it in years because the effects are so devastating. With one wave of your hand you can condemn an entire city to death."_

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"What does that mean Erza?" Lucy stuttered nervously, noticing how her friend had paled at just the name of the magic.

"Shadow Recall is one of the worst forms of magic out there, and is so dangerous that those who wield it usually spiral into insanity, with disastrous results. It is the act of taking another's shadow, or even a whole city's shadow, killing all who live there almost immediately.

Without a shadow we become untied to this world, we cease to exist, but for the shadows. All who are 'Recalled' disappear completely – obliterated, gone forever – and the few who survive can only coexist with darkness. You can never return to the light. It is a fate worse than death. And he just cast that spell on us."

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Gray made a noise in the back of his throat, half between a yell and a scream of frustration.

He started forward, but as he opened his mouth – to verbally abuse this guy and demand his shadow back no doubt – he was cut off by the man in the soul-wreathed cloak.

"Very smart Erza. Very smart. I knew you'd figure it out. Now, before our.. relationship.. is clouded with judgement and demands for recompense, I think introductions are in order. My name is Asinath, and I am here to propose you a deal."

Before either Natsu or Gray could so much as take a breath to yell Erza stood forward, hair splaying out behind her in the wind's cool touch, mouth tight and grim.

"Asinath, I beseech you", her voice was pleasant enough, to the outsider, but Natsu, Gray and Lucy – even though her anger wasn't directed at them – instinctively took several steps back.

A safety precaution.

"Return us our shadows and let us go on our way, or, I swear upon my Guild and all I hold dear, we will raze your 'guild' to the ground and you will weep and your beloved dark abandon you as you realize you have entered a war you cannot win."

He simply smiled, for all they could see was his strong jaw and smirking mouth, and two sharp glints for eyes.

"Well, Fairy Tail, as you can see, you're not really in the place to be making demands. Because, as our friend here forgot to mention, that you will cease to exist at the break of dawn – light and dark cannot coexist. But, if you can beat the strongest guild in all of Earthland, I will return you're shadows to you and you will be pronounced the strongest guild of Earthland."

"Is this all this is?" Gray suddenly piped up; normally void voice angered and cold.

"You've killed countless people just so you can prove yourself as the strongest guild in Fiore? How pathetic."

Asinath's smile turned cold.

"So", he said, his cloak dripping shadows down his back to his feet, which were obscured and wreathed by black smoke.

"War it is."

Without warning, he leapt.

He jumped high over their heads, black form obscuring the stars lighting up the inky strip of night sky behind him, stretched like a silken banner across the horizon.

He landed in the midst of them, and there was a breath of silence, a collective gasp, before the stone cracked beneath his feet, sending out ripples of shockwaves that sent them flying backwards, flattening the town in one blow.

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Erza managed to catch the branch of a weeping willow as she was whiplashed past, using her momentum to spin herself around in a tight flip to land on the sturdy branch. She was amazed at how far she'd flown – she was on the outskirts of town.

Or what was the town.

It was now entirely flattened, buildings now nothing but white smears in uniform rings around the centre of the town – the only building still standing was the massive hall were they first encountered Asinath. _It must be their guild hall._

She hoped like hell Gray, Natsu and Lucy had been thrown as far as her, and had escaped the damage that now shattered the picturesque landscape.

 _I have to find them. They could be injured, or being attacked-_

Her thoughts were broken off by the massive ball of flame the erupted from the other side of town, accompanied by shrill shouts and copious amounts of smoke.

Despite herself she smiled, relieved that Natsu was ok.

 _I need to meet up with the others again. The only way we can stand even the slightest chance against this guild is together!_

She jumped down from the tree, landing with a muffled thump on the ground.

The wind ruffled her casual blue skirt, and she noticed it was getting colder as the night drew on.

She started the walk back into town, black boots crushing the already weary grass underfoot, and as she walked she surveyed the damage.

The town was decimated.

Houses turned to rubble and ground cracked like the desert in need of rain. The river still ran on, but now with several large bits of debris causing the water to swirl in evasive moments around the large chunks of rock that stood high like pinnacles.

As she drew closer she could hear yelling, and another explosion rang out across the still.

By now she was running.

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Gray was pissed.

The shock of the impact had thrown him to the northern end of town, and he'd barely picked himself up from the ground before they were upon him.

Swathed in darkness and bearing shadows they attacked.

He had to leap out of the way of a bolt of concentrated.. shadows?

"Ice make, Sword!"

A large double edged blade flowed down his right arm, forming a raggedly sharp sword that contracted to his hand, made of angry intent and murderous gaze.

Thick spikes ran up and down its length, and it was a light blue that reflected the jewel in his crucifix, and the sharp gazes of the mages that surrounded him.

He guessed there were probably fifteen or so, hidden in dark cloaks that fell to the ground in ragged folds of shadow, hiding everything but their hands.

They leapt at the same time, Gray leaping forward to meet them front on.

With a surprise dulled over years of 'oh, shit!' he realized that he was no longer wearing his plain white t-shirt, clothed only in his low jeans and belt, boots and crucifix.

 _Shit, again?_

Nimbly, swiftly, dodging and weaving, as though it were a fine art, he deftly blocked attack after attack, sending men crumpling to the ground left and right, until only three remained.

His breath was ragged in his chest and he could hear his pulse racing in his ears.

Ice littered the ground around him, sharp spikes illuminating the light of the stars above, several with men trapped or pinned underneath or inside of.

The one on the left leapt suddenly, and Gray simply leaned to the right, already feeling fatigue working its way into his weary bones.

His attention was caught, however, as, almost in slow motion, the man's fist skimmed his jaw and carried on past his line of sight, and he caught sight of his guild mark.

That cost him, because, as he assessed his guild mark he felt a punch work its way past his defences and crash against his ribs, supercharged by dark energy.

 _Ouch._

The guild mark was, almost in irony, beautiful. An intricate circlet around the man's thin wrist, all coiled spirals and fine smoke etchings, illustrating a city being consumed by shadows, caught up in the wind.

Even as he felt another punch to his stomach he kept his eyes on that mark. He could have sworn he saw the smoke pulse and writhe, the city line burn.

He was being beaten down, and with fierce determination he struggled back, ice shattering and reforming around the shattered ground that had become a battlefield.

They traded blow for blow, and he felt grim satisfaction as he saw his ice pierce one of their sides, only to feel his own side, left vulnerable for just one second, be set ablaze by a small ball of dark energy, matter impossibly spiked, as it drove itself into his flesh.

He was bleeding from numerous cuts and scrapes along his torso and arms. A particularly bad cut above his left eye showered his world in red as it bled into his eye.

Another concentrated ball skimmed his upper arm, ripping the flesh and sending rivulets of blood down his arm in waves.

 _Note to self. Avoid small flying balls of pain._

When he narrowly avoided having his back flayed open by one of them taking a cheap shot he got tired of being respectable.

 _Time to fight dirty._

"Ice make, statues!" **(Pretty sure that's not an actual thing, but hush you :P)**

Numerous animals sprung from the ground, rabbits and wolves, cats and dogs, all surrounding them in a bizarre scene, like something out of the Ice Queen's garden **(Narnia, but ice instead of stone)**.

"What the..?" One of the men muttered under his breath, slowing backing through the weird sight.

His voice was cut off, though, when Gray stepped out from behind a particularly large statue of a white tiger and placed both his hands on the man's temples, quietly muttering the ice-make under his breath.

The man fell, head first, with a clunk to the ground, shocked face frozen in the large ball of ice that surrounded his face.

His comrade looked up at the noise, just in time to get a fist to the face.

He fell to the ground, where he was instantly bound by large restraints of ice, pinning his squirming body in place.

Gray stepped closer, intent on answers, only to stop short at a yell and a disturbance behind him.

He turned in time to see a jet of flame hit the man who had been sneaking up behind Gray, large ball of dark matter forming between his hands with a sizzle, sending him crashing through several statues behind him. He slumped to the ground with a groan.

He stood there, clothes torn and blood-stained, torso all but ripped to shreds and grinned full-force at Gray.

"Admit it", Natsu said with a cocky smirk. "You love me."


	3. Chapter 3

" _Admit it", Natsu said with a cocky smirk. "You love me."_

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Gray stared at Natsu for a split second before cuffing him round the back of the head and saying; "You wish flame-brain!"

When Natsu started to bristle indignantly at the nickname Gray offered up a small, begrudging, "Thanks..."

Natsu just laughed, showing off his razored canines, and hit him none too gently on the back, making him wince.

Gray face palmed at his enthusiasm, even as they surveyed the damage around them.

Shattered ice, like crystallised glass, scattered the ground in glistening shards, startlingly blue against the green grass that was flattened in a lop-sided circle around them, clearly showing the battle grounds that they stood on.

Unconscious bodies lay strewn around them like afterthoughts, and Gray almost winced at the awkward angles that some limbs lay, and the spots of blood that glistened red under their watchful gaze. Half crumbled statues lay desolately around them, slowly beginning to melt under the suns last smile.

A few metres away lay a shattered tree trunk that Gray could only vaguely remember crashing into and throwing roughly away from him, shredding the skin on his knuckles as he punched it towards an incoming wave of evil henchmen.

Glancing up, Gray noted how the clouds that floated so peacefully above them were lined with gold and stained blood red by the sun that was settling like an old dog, ever so slowly nestling itself between the far away hills of the horizon. The sky was stained like a murderer's mind, and the wind was gradually picking up in ferocity.

When he looked back down again, Natsu was no longer by his side but towering over the man chained to the ground by Gray's hand, glowering down at him.

The man stared up at him, seemingly unfazed by the menacing silhouette encompassing his gaze. Instead he met his gaze coolly, as though he were lying on the beach rather than chained down with ice that burned his bare skin with cold's icy kiss.

"What do you know about this Recall spell?" Natsu asked, staring down at him with an equal mix of disgust and curiosity.

The man startled them both by laughing; a deep booming sound that sound turned into a rasping cough as blood seeped from his lips and painted his teeth in a macabre smile.

"You don't have time to waste questioning a simple mage like me", he said, dissolving into laughter once more.

Gray and Natsu shared a glance - he was clearly mentally unstable, and the height of his attacks could hardly be described as _simple_ , but it was the gravity of his voice that caught Gray's attention.

"What do you mean we don't have time?" He demanded, stepping forward to join Natsu's side.

The man just laughed and laughed, and now Gray noticed the large shard of ice that pierced his side, sending the ground awash in blood and gore. He found it hard to conjure up regret though - the way the man had attacked him so viciously - and recklessly - had deemed it almost impossible for him to avoid any of Gray's equally strong attacks.

Natsu, obviously short-tempered and bored with his maniacal laughter, stooped down so his face was close to the man and his eyes burned into his like embers.

"What. Did. You. Mean?" He set his fist alight and placed it so close to the man's face that his dark hair started to curl from the heat and his eyes widened enough for Gray to see a peculiar outer ring of the lightest blue around his dark iris, which now widened in the slightest show of fear.

"You have until the sunrise to get your shadows back, or you will succumb to the dark forever", he stated, voice rich and gloating.

His ensuing bout of laughter showered Natsu's face in a fine spray of blood, but by then both of them were already running for the town centre, dreading what had happened to the others in the short period of time they had both been busy with their respective battles.

Behind them, the laughter slowly turned to rasping coughs, and then silence.

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Lucy had been thrown far and wide, landing with a rather unceremonious splash in the river, which was followed by lots of loud expletives and complaints about "my hair! This top was brand new! Oh, when I see that smug faced creep I'll-"

"Lucy!"

Her head whipped up so fast that her long blonde hair, which was pasted to her cheeks and neck with water, spun like a whirlwind around her head.

Erza stood before her, regal and proud, on the river's side, blue skirt slightly torn or singed in places, scarlet hair fanning out behind her at the winds touch, like blood dispelling in water.

Her dark eyes were fierce and determined, and she clutched a thick sword in her left hand, silver glinting in the last of the sun's rays.

Her forearms were spattered with blood, like a misguided artist's canvas, and several cuts and bruises marred her porcelain pale skin.

Lucy stood thigh deep in water, her cerulean blue tank top turned a deep platho blue with the weight of water it dripped down her slightly bare midriff. Her white short shorts were pulled down low on her hips with the weight of water, and she had lost one of her intricate leather sandals to the silt of the riverbed.

Her keys were still, thankfully, fastened on the white belt around her hips, and gold bangles sang merrily from her left wrist when she moved a hand to push her sodden hair out of her eyes.

Grasping the hand Erza offered Lucy hauled herself out of the river, pink lips curling up in faint disgust as mud squelched between the toes of her bare foot.

Pulling the now limp hair tie from her drying hair she quickly and deftly pulled it up in her half-headed ponytail that was her signature hairstyle, brushing the loose strands out of her warm brown eyes as Erza filled her in.

"I was thrown out towards the East of the town", Erza said, as they walked towards the centre of town – or what had _been_ the town - , Lucy practically jogging to keep up with Erza's brisk pace.

"I could see where Natsu was – the plumes of flames and smell of singed hair was enough, and I knew we had to reconvene immediately. I was set upon by a group of dark mages, only a short distance from Natsu, and we assisted each other, before splitting up to find you and Gray."

 _So that explains the blood and cuts_ Lucy thought, thoughts straying to the boys', wondering where they were and if they were okay.

Erza's voice once again startled her from her thoughts; "The only way we stand a chance against so many is to fight together. We were obviously set up", she said in anger, clenching an armoured fist in anger, slightly warping the metal.

Lucy gulped and edged ever so slightly away, the display of anger in the town centre still evident in her mind.

"We must find the others immediately!" Erza yelled with determination, and set off at a run towards town, Lucy half a second behind her.

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 **Hey guys, hopefully you like the story so far (:**

 **And because I am an attention whore, and reviews make me all warm and fuzzy inside PLEASE REVIEW :3 How else am I meant to know how good/crap my story is?**

 **Ps, I hope you didn't find any of the characters too OOC, but I think Erza does speak very formally etc., and I hope I got the characters right (:**


	4. Chapter 4

" _We must find the others immediately!" Erza yelled with determination, and set off at a run towards town, Lucy half a second behind her._

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Lucy ran with Erza, only pausing for a split second to pull off her other sandal and tuck it into her back pocket, before resuming her run, blonde hair streaming out behind her like a golden fan.

The rubble cut and pulled at her bare feet but she ignored it as best she could and upped her speed, breath coming in short pants and gasps that ripped the conspicious silence around her.

The ground was swathed in white clay - the shattered houses, ground to a fine dust that flew up in plumes behind her as she ran. They were nearing the town centre now - the town hall - their guild hall, maybe? - rose up ahead of her like a giant's rising head, blocking the sun's sleepy smile that shone out fro the horizon's roiling tide. 

She felt uneasy in the shodows that tickled her bare, feet, and, as they slowed to a walk, she sneaked closer to Erza, reassured by the small smile she sent her way.

A loud disturbance found them then - swearing in the distance, muffled by the bulk of the hall ahead of her.

Curiously she turned to peer around the corner, and, upon seeing Gray and Natsu bearing down upon her, scrambled to get out of their way.

Instead she fell into their path - briefly she saw Gray's face change to shock before he took a running leap over her head, only just managing to clear her, but running into Erza instead, who caught him in one steel-inclad arm, resulting in a loud _clang_ and " _Oompf!"_

Natsu didn't have nearly as much elegance - he ran straight into her, and she felt the contact as he grabbed her waist in an effort to steady them, instead overbalancing them, causing them to roll over and over in the dust until at last the earth stopped spinning before Lucy's eyes. She was slumped over something.. solid?

She looked down and gulped in embarassment - she straddled Natsu, his arms trapped around her thin waist in a vice-like grip. Her head was tucked in the nook between collarbone and neck, hair splayed across his jaw and face. His strong arms gripped her to him, and his eyes were squeezed shut against the dying of the light.

She brushed her hair from his jaw, fingers lightly trailing across his skin, before she remembered herself and snatched them back. 

"Natsu?" She murmered.

"Mmmm?" He said, arms tightening on her waist, one eye cracking open, his familiar lazy grin pulled his razor teeth straight.

"You can let go of me now." She said, now painfully aware of how his tight grip on her pulled their faces within a few inches of eachother.

"Oh." He said, but his arms only loosened a fraction. His dark eyes burned into hers, and she felt a flush crawl onto her cheeks. They stayed that way for what felt like minutes later, just staring at eachother, drinking in eachother's eyes, until a poorly muffled snicker resounded from behind them, and Lucy turned to see Gray elbow Erza with a wide grin on his face.

She could of sworn she had never seen Natsu move so fast - in one swift movement he dropped her like she had burned him and rolled to his feet, leaving her sprawled on the dusty ground, scrambling to get her wits about her.

He whistled a tune and turned his face away, eyeing up the building with far too much interest, and she couldn't tell if the red of his face was a flush or the sun's lingering touch.

Gray snickered once more, before stepping forward to help Lucy to her feet, perpetually cold hands grasping her own now-sweaty ones, delicately pulling her to her feet and assembling her safely back on the ground.

"All right, Lucy?" He asked, but his tone had a hint of mischief running like a smooth undercurrent beneath the seemingly innocent question, and all she did was playfully hit his chest and walk away with a smile, face now a beet red.

Erza stood strong and sure, watching the shenanigans, a small smiling gracing her curved lips the only tell that she knew what had just happened. She cleared her throat and drew them all together into a tight huddle, making sure that her armoured shoulders were between Lucy and Natsu, who was pointedly not looking at her.

"Right", Erza said. "What do we know, before we going rushing headfirst into this?" She skewered Natsu with a pointed glare. He chuckled uncomfertably and dropped his gaze the to smashed floor.

Gray stepped forward slightly, and when he spoke his voice was low and dangerous.

"We have until sunrise to get our shadows back, or we'll either die or succumb to the dark. I'd rather die", he spat in disgust.

"Ok", Erza said, nodding her head sagely. "So, what we're going to do is-"

Her voice was cut over by a dark chuckle that resounded and bounced around them like a puppy calling to play.

"Planning? What - not sure you'll be able to win, _Fairy Tail?_ "

They spun away from one another, and searched for the voice - eventually they saw him.

Asinath stood on the apex of the hall's roof, cloak roiling and waving in a tidal wave of shadow, flowing down his back like dripping blood.

"What have you to value from losing anyway? After all, I do have your shadows.."

With that he twitched one pale, slender hand, and a shadow drew up from the ground, until it was as tall as Lucy - in fact, it was Lucy's shadow!

It was unearthly, seeing it there - all if someone had cloned Lucy and coloured her in completely black, an unearthly silhouette that danced in and out of their vision, a dark apparition.

Lucy let out a shout of anger and jumped at the shadow - her fingers grasped, then slipped through the dark, leaving a trail of black through the air, like ink coiling and twinging through water. The shadow leaped away, mouth open in mocking laugh, and Lucy yelled in frustration and took a running leap at the shadow, until both were rolling on the ground in startling flashes of the black of Lucy's shadow, and the white of Lucy's clay-streaked skin.

Finally Lucy pinned her dark mirror image, and straddled her, hands pinning her arms above her, face white streaked and angry. Her hair was coming lose and fell around her face in graceful streaks and she bared her teeth at the silhouette below her.

She glanced up and saw Erza, Gray and Natsu watching her from a few metres away with strange expressions on their faces. It was Natsu, subtle as ever, who finally said it.

"Damn - that's so strange, two Lucys... It's like Edolas all over again.." He trailed off and continued to watch her, face slack for once.

She was still watching him when she felt the tugging on her wrists and knees. She looked down quickly and saw her shadow dissolve, the black crawling and racing across her skin like a poison.

She reared back onto her knees, scrambling away from the shadow, hands despreately trying to brush off the dark the seeped across her skin in an oily scar. It creeped up her legs, and swirled up her arms to clasp at her neck with frozen fingers. She turned her eyes to Natsu in horror, and saw them all reaching for her.

A jolt caused her to look down, and she saw now how she sank into the ground, the shadow eating her, swallowing her up to the waist like quick sand.

She yelled in terror and reached for her friends, who were now reaching for her, feet pounding a matronome beat against the ground like the galloping of her heart. As she felt it overtake her face, turning her skin as dark as her shadow's, reaching, cloaking, hiding her eyes, she screamed, and as her sight fled from her she caught one more glimpse of Natsu jumping towards her, arm outstretched, mouth stretched in a void of desperation.

She could feel the sliver of breath as he yelled in desperation, the tug of his hands through her hair, grasping then slipping, finding no hold, and then the ground swallowed her and she was gone, leaving Natsu kneeling forlornly on the ground, harsh breath tearing holes in the still sky.


	5. Chapter 5

_She could feel the sliver of breath as he yelled in desperation, the tug of his hands through her hair, grasping then slipping, finding no hold, and then the ground swallowed her and she was gone, leaving Natsu kneeling forlornly on the ground, harsh breath tearing holes in the still sky._

 **aAa LINEBREAK aAa**

Darkness.

It swirled and ebbed, tugging and twisting around her, spinning her endlessly and endlessly.

Lucy tried to scream, but found her mouth held shut by some invisble force - she couldn't see, she couldn't scream, she couldn't _breathe._

She panicked, flailing against the darkness that pressed close, closer.

Until light appeared, starbursting across her vision in supernovas, shuttering her eyes against the glare.

Fresh air filtered across her face, and she slumped to her knees in relief, resting her forehead on her forearms as she gulped in heavy gasps of air, head bowed.

Slowly her senses returned, and she could register the fact that she was out of the swriling darkness.

Darkness.

She shivered - it had been so cold, so empty. So desolate.

She slowly worked herself to her feet, her body twinging with cold and aches - what the hell was that?

She found her answer when she felt a firm hand grasp her hair and pull her to her feet, squeezing a startled yell from of her parched throat.

Which was when she became aware off where she was - the roof.

With Asinath.

 _Shit._

The town spread below like map on parchment, and her eyes widened as she finally realized the true devesation on Asinath's power.

Rock formations that before had stood tall and proud now lay shattered across the cracked ground, and dust hung in the air in heavy wreathes, cloaking the ground in swirling mists that choked and shook with the winds harsh blows. Buildings had simply been shattered where they stood, and beautiful shrubs and trees that had been in the essence of blossom had been torn from the ground as if by a wrathful giant, and tossed like forgotten playthings across the wide expanse of now empty land.

The city was no more.

 **aAa LINEBREAK aAa**

Natsu grasped wildly at the ground, but it was no more than dirt and rubble, no sign of Lucy having ever been there.

He scrabbled wildly at the ground, feeling the bite and tear of rocks slicing beneath his skin, until he felt a strong arm around his chest, pulling him up and away, and another, significantly armoured hand turn his chin silently towards the rooftop.

Two silhouettes stood, harsh against the glaring clouds, a splitsecond for him to burn the image into his mind before one fell.

 _Lucy._

She sank to the ground, her hair shadowing her face, and he strained to get to her - something was wrong. Something was really, really wrong.

Asinath smiled across the distance, directly at him, and he felt his blood boil as Asinath reached down, casually, almost bored, to grasp a full handful of that blonde hair Natu loved so much, pulling her to her feet.

Even across the expanse he heard her pained yell.

He started towards her again, and now there were two arms across his chest, one armoured,a nd one bare - and both shook with as much emotion as he felt welling up inside.

He was going to kill that bastard for so much as daring to touch Lucy.

Asinath smirked and pulled her closer to him, every line of his body melding to hers, raising his left hand triumphantly.

Something glittered.

 _Lucy's keys._

He gripped them surely in his fist, the gold and silver of Lucy's hardearned keys glinting in the last light of the day, before leaning down to whisper something into Lucy's ear, something that Natsu, even which his advanced hearing, struggled to pick up across the width.

But he saw her reaction, saw her stiffen and straighten, tense to pull away - something was wrong. Something was really, really wrong.

 **aAa LINEBREAK aAa**

Asinath pulled her close, his breath steaming down her neck. She supressed a shudder and pulled away from him.

He pulled her even closer, and she whimpered when she felt his moist lips brush her ear.

"My dear Lucy Heartfilia", he whispered. She tensed and tried to pull away, but beneath the guise of her hair he had a firm grip on her neck, his nails biting in to the fragile flesh.

"I need you to do something for me", he hissed. Somewhere behind her she heard an all too familiar tinkle. A gasp brought about her revelation. _Her keys._

He seemed to sense her distress and she felt the smirk pull agianst her hairline.

"Call them", he whispered.

"Call them or I will break each and every key, and scatter them to the depths of Earthland. No one will ever find them again. And your friends shadows will go with them."

She swallowed thickly, before giving a miniscule nod, her voice a wavering whisper.

"I can't... I can't call all of them at once."

Asinath regarded her coldly, before hissing in her face.

"Well you better damn well try."

She didn't want to. She really didn't want to - but the shadows. Her spirits.

She couldn't let him hurt her friends. Never. She would never let him hurt her friends.

She drew herself up, drawing her shoulders back, her mind whirring a mile a minute, planning already as she reached for the keys in Asinath's clawed grip.

He smirked and threw them, and she barely caught them before they flew off the edge, herself peetering dangerously on the edge before regaining control, her feet finding purchase on the marble roofing.

Natsu and the others stared up at her from below, worry etched plainly into the creases of their faces, and it didn't escape her notice that Erza and Gray held Natsu back.

All three of them stared at Asinath, anger drawn plainly across their faces.

She fought to pull her mouth into a reassurring smile, tearing her eyes from Natsu's confused face.

With a deep breath she pulled the first key that she felt from her belt - Loke.

She swung the key wide, murmuring the incantation to the sky, as a familiar golden glow speared the sky.

Loke swung into existence next to Natsu, playboy grin stretched wide across his face, suit impeccable and glasses perched on his highbridged nose. He swept his hand wide and flourished, turning to address Lucy - and instead finding himself facing three upset Fairy Tail mages.

His eyebrows skewed in confusion, and his golden eyes flitted across the town, the mages, Asinath and finally, Lucy, once, twice.

His jaw set in stone as he recognized the situation, and his weight settled more firmly on his bent knees and he braced for a fight, only to have Erza frown, and shake her head ever so slightly at him.

Looking back up at Lucy he could see that she had already summoned two more spirits -and the strain was beginning to show on her face, sweat beading her hair to her forehead, eyes skewed in concentration.

Taurus and Aquarius hovered anxiously next to him, eyes darting and assessing as Lucy seemed to shiver, clutch one more key in a trembling palm and held it out from her. Her eyes screwed shut, her lip moved in a silent plea, and then everything was lost in a brilliant explosion of golden light.


End file.
